Autoblog

click above image to view a full high-res gallery of the new Audi A4

Audi put together its usual unveil shebang, with cameras, prompters, giant screens, a famous person come to sing praises, and a giant crowd. The audience surrounding the two cars being showcased, the RS6 Avant and the A4, made the venue look more like Wembley than a Frankfurt Motor Show hall. Other than Bryan Adams emerging with a guitar and an acoustic version of "Run to You," we didn't understand any of the press conference, which was entirely in German. Based on the presenter's body language, however, Audi feels very good about what it has and where it's going.

The new A4 takes plenty of lines from the A5. It's still svelte, it simply has a few more creases for you to catch your eye on. Along with a compendium of changes inside and out -- detailed in the exhaustive press release -- there are new engines that provide better power, get better economy, and exhale less pollution. The 1.8-liter is the runt of the petrol lot, and gets 160 bhp. The 2.0-liter diesel makes do with 143 bhp, but comes good with 260 ft-lb. The largest engine available is the 3.2 FSI with 265 bhp and 0-60 in 6.2 seconds.

Click Read for an exhaustive press release, and be sure to check out the hi-res gallery of photos from the reveal.